Snap-seal.



E J. BROOKS.

SNAP SEAL.

APPLICATION FILED DEQ. 21, 1908.A 912,534, Patented Feb. 16, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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E. J. BROOKS.

Y SNAP SEAL.

APPLICATION FILED DEO. 21l 190B.

Patented Feb. 16, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Z//EM EDWARD J. BROOKS, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

SNAP-SEAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 16, 1909.

Application filed December 21, 1908. Serial No. 468,547.

To all whom it 'may concern.'

Be it lmown that I, EDWARD J. BROOKS, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of East Orange, in the State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Snap-Seals, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates, in common with previous improvements, to self-fastening seals, or snap seals as they are commonly termed, for use, as substitutes for lead and wire seals and other press-fastened or pressfastenable sealing devices, to secure the doors of railway freight cars and for other like purposes. Examples of such snap seals are set forth in my specification forming part of United States Letters Patent No. 736682, dated August 18, 1903, and in my previous specifications therein referred to.

The present invention is more particularly additional to the improvement in snap seals set forth in my specification forming part of United States Letters Patent No. 654598, dated July 31, 1900. The distinguishing characteristic of that improvement is a seal part formed from a single piece of suitable sheet metal, such as tin plate, and having a tubular or partly tubular rim provided with inturned 'rigid lips to interact with spring catches on the ends of a flexible shackle of suitable wire.

The leading objects of the present invention are to adapt a sheet-metal seal part of that description to be constructed of oblong shapes, heretofore considered impracticable, and, by this and other means, to obviate flattening portions of the tubular rim, which involves a separate operation, and, in this and other ways, to reduce the cost of manufacure without impairing the security of the sea The present improved seals may have flexible shackles of either wire or sheet metal, and may be threaded in various ways as required for the attachment of such seals to different objects involving different relative positions of the respective parts.

- The present invention consists in certain novel combinations of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed, and in an improved snap seal embodying any of such combinations of arts.

P Two sheets of drawings accompany this specification as part thereof.

Figure 1 represents an edge view of a flexible shackle of flat wire; Fig. 2 is a face view of an oblong seal part partly in section; Fig. 3 represents a section on the line A-B, Fig. 2; Fig. 4 represents an end view of the same seal part; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view, showing one of the inlet holes; Fig. 6 is a small scale face view of the fastened seal composed of said shackle and seal part; Figs.- 7 and 8 are face and edge views of a circular seal part of the same construction as said oblong seal part; Fig. 9 represents a section on the line OUD, ldig. 7, through a fastened snap seal composed of said circular seal part and a flexible shackle of fiat wire; Fig. 10 is an edge view of the shackle wire represented by Fig. 9; Figs. 11 and 12 are face and edge views of a sheet-metal shackle suitable for use in connection with the improved seal parts; Fig. 13 represents a back view of a seal part attached to one end of said sheet-metal shackle; Fig. 14 represents a section through the snap seal represented by Fig. 13 in its fastened condition; Fig. 15 is a face view of another sheet-metal shackle 3 Fig. 16 is a sectional edge view of a fastened snap seal embodying the sheet-metal shackle last named; and Fig. 17 is a face view of the seal part represented in Fig. 16. p

Like reference characters refer to like parts in all the gures.

The improved seal, in each of its forms, is composed of a iieXible metallic shackle, orJ or a2 or a3 or a4, constructed with one or more elastic catches, a or a, at one or each 0f its ends, 1 and 2, and a seal'part, b-or b2 or b3 or b4, of sheet metal, in one piece, constructed with a hollow portion or hollow portions, 3; a seamless outer edge, 4, an inlet hole or a pair of inlet holes, 5, in said outer edge; rigid inwardly projecting lips, 6, 7, 8 and 9, Fig. 5, or 8 and 9, Figs. 14 and 16, at the sides of each inlet hole, or at two opposite sides, and substantially perpendicular to said edge; a label portion, 10, which may be of a single thickness of the sheet metal, suitably printed or embossed; and a lap joint, 11, Fig. 3, etc., adjoining said label portion, and opposed to said seamless outer edge 4 and said inlet hole or holes. Said lap joint 11 in its relation to each inlet hole and to a snap catch inserted therethrough, prevents access to the snap fastened catch, which could otherwise be tampered with through the open joint of the hollow portion 3.

In the species represented by Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive, the shackle c is lof flat wire, and is constructed with an elastic catch aateachY of its ends, formed -by lbends, and with an inlet guard or end guard,i12, formed byzigzag bends adjoining each catch; and the seal part b is constructed of an oblong shape, with ahollow portion 8 at each end, and an inlet hole 5 in the outer edge of each end; the inlet hole being further constructed of a square form, with inwardly projecting rigid lips 6, 7, 8 and 9 at all sides of the hole, as best shown in Fig.. 5, hereinbefore referred to,'so as to oppose one of said lips to the catch of the shackle in any angular position iii which the latter may be inserted into the inlet hole. A. single opposing pair of said lips would insure fastening the shackle by interaction between the catch and one of the lips if the relation between the shackle and the seal part in the fastened seal were always the same but it is desirable to be able to arrange the parts in different positions in the fastened seal, as for instance with the face of the seal part in the saine plane as the shackle, which is represented by Fig. 6, or with the face of the seal part substantially at right-angles to the plane of the shackle as re resented by Fig. 9. Providing the square in et hole with the lips on all sides, as in Fig. 5, adapts the seal part to interlock with the shackle end in either of these' two positions, witheither side of the flat wire innermost.

'In-the species represented by Figs. 7, 8, 9

and 10, the shackle (L2 is identical with the shackle a above described, except that it omits said end guards 12, theprincipal function of which may be performed by tempering and thus coloring the ends or otherwise tinting them, or they may be wholly omitted. The seal part b2 of this species is round, to illustrate the employment of diferentshapes, and the inlet holes 5 are simply arranged diametrically opposite each other, being preferably of the same description as those 0f the first species.

In the species represented by Figs. 11 to 14 inclusive, the shackle a3 is of sheet metal provided at both ends with elastic catches a cut from the body of the shackle, and projecting on opposite sides thereof, and with end guards, 12', formed by embossing the sheet metal.

Sheet-metal shackles are preferred by some railway vcompanies and other users of such seals, because they are adapted to carry distinguishing marks such as are represented by HBXRY and "18067 in Fig. 11, and the present invention renders it practicable to use such shackles in combination with seal parts b3 of sheet-metal constructed in one ed of an oblong shape with inlet holes 5 in .catches a on the shackle.

.ln either of the forms above described, the seal part (t or b2 or b3) would ordinarily-be fastened to one end of the shackle (ct or a2 or a5) as in Fig. 13, at the factory, or in advance of the sealing operation,`which is completed by thrusting the other shackle end endwise into an inlet hole 5, and. rendering it snap fastened as in Fig. 14+. it is especially important to unite the parts preliminarily when a shackle of sheet metal is used, as it insures locating the back of the shackle on the same side as that of the seal part, as illustrated by Fig. 13, and thus insures having the face of the shackle outermost when the seal is finally fastened.

In-the species represented by Figs. 15,16 and 17, the end 1 of the sheet metal shackle a4 is constructed with a longitudinal slot, 13,V which provides for looping the shackle to a pair of car door staples, c, or the like, as in Fig. 16, so that there is onlyone end of the shackle to secure ly the seal part t, Figs. 16 and 17 This end, 2, of the shackle is constructed with snap catches a integral with the b ody of the shackle and with adjoining inlet or end guards, 12', and the body of the shackle is conveniently provided with printed or embossed distinguishing marks, represented by BXX and 90000, Fig. v15. The seal part, b4, is constructed with a hollow portion 3 at one end only of an oblonglal el portion 10, and is constructed with an oblong inlet hole 5 in the outer edge 4 of said hollow portion 3, and with a pair of inwardly projecting lips 8 and 9 along its long sides to interact with the oppositely projecting catches on the hackle when the seal is snap fastened, in

ig. 16. i

The inlet or end guards shown at 12 in Figs. 11-14 and Figs. '15-16, -may obviously be omitted, with or without the employment of substitute coloring or the like as above described with reference to Fig. 10; seal parts of other shapes'may te constructed in the manner above described; and other like modifications will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art.v

Having thus described said improvement, I claim as my invention and desire to patent under this specification: l

1. The coml-inationin a snap seal, of a seal part of sheet metal 1n one piece constructed with a iiat label portion, a hollow portion, a seamless outer edge, a .lap joint at the inner edge of said Vhollow portion adjoining said label portion, an inlet hole in said outer edge, a rigid inwardlyprojecting lip substantially perpendicular to said outer edge adjoinin said inlet vhole, and aiiexible metallic shac le constructed with a snap iso catch to interact with said lip within said hollow portion.

2. An improved snap seal having, in comhination, a seal part of sheet metal in one piece constructed with a hollow portion, a seamless outer edge, an inlet hole in said outer edge, and rigid inwardly projecting lips l sutstantially perpendicular to said edge at opposite sides of said inlet hole, and a iexihle metallic shackle constructed with a snap catch insertiole in different angular positions to interact with either of said lips Within said hollow portion.

3. rlf'he comi ination, in a snap seal, of a seal part oi sheet metal in one piece constructed with a hollow portion, a seamless outer edge, a square inlet hole in said outer edge and rigid inwardly projecting lips suhstantially perpendicular to said edge at all sides of said inlet hole, and a iiexiile metallic shackle of flat wire constructed with .a snap catch inserti le in diiierent angular positions j to interact with any one of said lips within said hollow portion.

4.. The comlination, in a snap seal, of an ohlong seal part of sheet metal in one piece constructed with a flat lahel portion, a hollow end portion, a seamless outer edge, an inlet hole in said outer edge and rigid inwardly projecting lips suhstantially perpendicular to said edge at opposite sides of said inlet hole, and a lexille metallic shackle constructed with a snap catch to interact with either of said lips within said hollow portion.

5. The comloination, in a snap seal, of an olilong seal part of sheet metal in one piece constructed with a flat central label portion and with a hollow portion at each end having a seamless outer edge, an inlet hole in said outer edge of each end portion and rigid inwardly projecting lips sulstantially perpendicular to said outer edge at opposite sides of each inlet hole, and a flexi'cle metallic shackle constructed with elastic catches at 130th ends to interact with said lips within said hollow portions, substantially as hereinlzefore specified.

EDWARD J. BROOKS. 

